2023 Harvest a disappointment

It’s been a fairly full month of harvest! I’ve heard much disappointment in yields thus far. Perspective for me comes from helping serve eight counties this past year and seeing such a range of conditions. I have struggled to find ways to encourage as I talk with growers. I’m just so grateful harvest is here as, to me, every field finished is one field closer to being done with 2023!

I also realize that’s not a great way to look at a year, but it’s honestly where I’m at. Thus far, non-irrigated soybeans have averaged 20 to 25 bushels per acre in much of the northern counties I serve and 4 to 10 bushels per acre in the southern tier of counties. Pockets receiving a little more rain got above 30 bushels per acre. Irrigated soybeans are mostly going 65 to 75 bushels per acre, which I realize is a huge disappointment. Last week I shared the high heat the third week of August coupled with disease and soybean gall midge were all factors. Hearing 45 to 50 bushels per acre for those with higher levels of disease (SDS and white mold). Early season beans were extra impacted by the high heat with small beans like “bbs’s.” Later maturing beans being harvested now were at an earlier development stage during the high heat and seem to be coming out better in size and yields.

Non-irrigated corn is all over the board depending on rainfall, hail damage and practices involved. Have seen everything from no to few ears present and not even combined to nearly 120 bushels per acre where there were more rains on no-till ground.

I heard an exceptional non-irrigated yield for this year of 145 bushels per acre on no-till corn on milo ground with more rain in July. With higher ET, I think there’s potential for some powerful irrigated corn in spots, but it also depends on ability to maintain enough water, impact of the smoke on solar radiation, development stage during that third week of August and how quick the fill period went from dent to black layer. GDDs from 2012, 2022, and 2023 were fairly similar in pattern (based on data from York). June 2023 varied from nearly the same to 50 GDD more than June 2012. July 4 is when things changed with 2012 accumulating more GDD until the third week of August of 2023. From then on, 2023 and 2012 have showed essentially the same GDD accumulation until this past weekend (Sept. 30) when 2023 is around 37 GDD higher than 2012. GDDs in 2023 follow a highly similar pattern to 2022 other than the June time-frame and Aug. 22 through Sept. 17 being higher in 2023. This CropWatch article (https://go.unl.edu/kefo) was suggesting near average to below average yields for irrigated corn in our area of the State because of the high heat period from Aug. 22 to Sept. 12, 2023. During that time, the weather data at Clay Center showed higher solar radiation, ET, min and max temp compared to the 30 year average. We’ll see what happens and wishing you safety during harvest!

In case temperatures drop to freezing Friday, be aware of the potential for prussic acid poisoning for cattle on sorghum species (sudangrass, sorghum sudan, sorghum/milo). UNL beef researchers were experimenting with prussic acid test strips  (cyantesmo test paper) this past year when grazing annual forages; they can be a quick indicator of the presence of prussic acid or not.

Essentially, collect the plant material the animal would graze (small tillers have most potential for prussic acid). Cut the material into smaller pieces and place into a gallon sized ziplock bag with a 1” piece of the test strip paper. Seal and leave the bag in the sun or warm place for 10 minutes. The paper will turn blue at the presence of cyanide or remain white if it’s not present. It doesn’t provide a level but is a quick way to know if there’s risk of prussic acid poisoning or not. One roll of test paper goes a long way and is a little pricey, but could be used amongst several producers in an area for a quick test. Just something to consider as there’s a lot of forages planted in the area this year. For those who planted pearl millet, prussic acid is not a concern.

One thing I appreciated in the midst of drought was the reduced number of mosquitoes, chiggers and ticks (at least that bothered me anyway). Fall is such a beautiful time of year to be outside until the tiny biting black and white minute pirate bugs (insidious flower bugs) appear as they have now! They’re actually a beneficial predator of thrips, mites, aphids, tiny caterpillars, and insect eggs in crop, garden, landscapes, and wooded areas in the summer. 

This time of year on warm, sunny days, they bite humans they land on. One doesn’t need to worry about them injecting a venom, feeding on blood or transmitting disease. People’s reactions to the bites range from no reaction to swelling like a mosquito bite.

Unfortunately, there’s also no method of controlling them. Insect repellents don’t work as they aren’t attracted to carbon dioxide like mosquitoes are. They are attracted to light colored clothing, so wearing darker colors and long sleeves can help when being outdoors during warm, sunny days. Otherwise, work outdoors on cool, cloudy days.